Tamper evident seals are typically used to store containers during shipment in order to provide clear evidence in the event tampering with the container has occurred.
The prior art related to seals includes a number of devices in which seals typically comprise an elongated strip of a plastic material a first end of which is proportioned to engage a locking barrel which is disposed on an intermediate portion of the seal and a tag portion which is disposed on the opposite end of the strip.
The locking barrel forms a one-way lock and after insertion of the first end of the strip, the first end cannot removed from the locking barrel without destroying the seal. The tag portion includes indicia identifying the goods stored in the container.
The disadvantages of the typical prior art seals include the following:
The prior art seals include a plurality of bumps. The oval pattern of bumps is abrasive to the user's fingers when installing the seal on a tote box or other container.
The prior art seals include a flange at the end of the seal. This flange is relatively sharp and tends to result in repetitive use injury to the user.
The typical prior art seal incorporates a longitudinal rib. The longitudinal rib renders the seal uncomfortable for the user's fingers and prevents the intermediate portion from incorporating indicia.
The tag portions at the end of the prior art seal interferes with the convenient stacking of tote boxes or other containers when the prior art seals are installed. When the tag portions are bent to facilitate stacking of totes, the bending of the tag portions tends to result in damage to the tags.
Examples of prior art seals are shown in the following U.S. Patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,421 to Wells for a “Cable Tie Having An Improved Strap Locking Device” shows a cable tie haying an elongated planar strap extending from a head portion. A first series of protrusions and a second series of protrusions extend along the strap to fictionally engage a wire bundle. A member mounted on a hinge in the head prevents substantial movements of the planar strap in a withdrawal direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,252 to Wells for a “Cable Tie Having an Improved Strap Body” includes a metallic locking barb which is movably mounted in the head portion of the cable tie. The movable metallic locking barb having a knife edge engages a planar strap which extends from the head. The knife edge of the metallic looking barb engages protrusions on the planar strap to prevent substantial movement of the planar strap in a withdrawal direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,111 to Rohany for “Cable Tie Having a Strengthened Neck Area” shows a cable tie having an elongated planar strap extending from a head portion. A pair of gussets are provided to strengthen the area adjacent to the head portion.
A major disadvantage of the prior art tamper evident seals is related to the tamper evident feature of the seal. In the prior art tamper evident seal the locking feature is exposed to potential surreptitious tampering. This tampering can result in unwanted opening of the seal, removal or disturbances of the goods stored in the sealed container and restoration of the seal in a manner which disguises the fact that the seal has been opened. This problem is especially severe in the storage and shipment of medicines and other high volume items.